Digital Access – Check out the website and social media

https://libraryguides.lynchburg.edu/knight-capron-library

      The library is relatively easy to navigate and is similar to the one that Old Dominion University has. There are clear searches for books, articles, videos, databases, and journals. They give clear links for interlibrary loans, research guides or making appointments with the librarians. There is a feature to filter out if a student would want a fully online option or in person. The members of the staff are not listed but the faculty are. There are four librarians with their contact information so that they can be reached personally. They also include a feature to chat with a librarian on the website itself to help with reference and research questions. I was told that they switch out who monitors that every so often so it is not just one person’s task.

The Space & Physical Access

 The positive part about the college itself is that all of the buildings are in a round, so students have a short walk to the library from their dorms or parking lot. The building is older, so it feels more cozy than intimidating to me. There are a number of places to sit by yourself or with others in a study group. There are two floors that have computers and seating throughout them. The second floor holds all of the meeting rooms, and they must be reserved at the front desk along with some of the personal cubicles. The outside does not have any seating aside from a few chairs and has a short staircase to get to the door. They also have a book drop off and pick up at the front porch. The inside feels dated but I do not see anything that needs to be updated out of use.

I could not see any elevator for the second floor which would be difficult for students with movement disabilities. The libraries are available for public use outside of students, and they do have a collection for younger children.

Services & Intellectual Access

 This library is organized by the Library of Congress standards which was rare for me to find amongst the other libraries I have visited for this assignment. There is signage that shows the collections that are there whether from the new books, leisure collection, DVDs, and nonfiction books. They also have a poster on the wall that list out how the Library of Congress is organized.

I did not notice that anything that was not welcoming to visitors aside from the lack of easy access to the collection to students with disabilities. Other than that, the staff were welcoming and extremely helpful.

People – Patrons & Staff

        While the general public are allowed to come in, the library is set up to assist students first and foremost. The library advertises setting up appointments with their librarians to help students with research questions and the collection is catered to have material for all of their majors. I came later in the evening, though I was mistaken on which time they closed, but I did not get to see much patron interaction. I did see one of the staff members helping with a student on checking items out, and it seemed to be a positive and helpful interaction. The staff are mainly comprised of front desk clerks and one librarian who maintains the floor while the other librarians work in the back.

        All but one of their librarians are white women and the staff members seem to follow that pattern. It might alienate students of color who do not see themselves represented even though I know efforts are being made.

Collections

          They include books for all of the majors that they offer as well as books and DVDs for leisure. They also number of fully online books and articles for students. The library has laptops, sign-in desk computers, color printers, and scanners that are all free to use by students.

Other

        I believe that their dedication to making personal appointments whether they be in person or through zoom shows the libraries dedication to assisting students as much as they can. The library director also has told me that they also take request from students and do research of their own to find books that would assist the different majors. I was most surprised at the closing times, since the website had stated it closed at 12 A.M. but it actually closed at 5 P.M. For my undergraduate experience, my school’s library never closed that early so it was surprising that on a Friday after noon they would shut down at that time. I also was surprised at the use of the Library of Congress organization since I was not familiar with it. Overall, I had a positive experience, and I would like to know more about the archives collection that they also have on campus.